Chapter 1263 A small punishment and a big warning!

At 3:30 pm, Lin'an Plum Blossom House

Ye Mingsheng lay on the bed, enjoying the massage from two maids. On the way to Jiangnan, the accommodation conditions were sometimes good and sometimes bad. Occasionally, they had to camp in the wild. In addition, they had to rush on the road and inspect all the time. Ye Mingsheng felt that he had lost a lot of weight along the way.

Ye Mingsheng was originally quite happy about this. After all, he was already middle-aged and no longer a young man. He needed to start considering the problems of the three highs, so losing some weight would be good for his health!
However, as he has been eating and sleeping well in Plum Blossom Cottage recently, Ye Mingsheng can feel that the weight he had lost before has gradually grown back. Ye Mingsheng is a little helpless about this, and he has also consciously reduced his intake of sweet, greasy and fried foods to avoid further weight gain.

As for the flesh that had grown back, Ye Mingsheng was not too worried. After all, Ye Mingsheng had already decided that on the 15th of this month, he would leave Jiangnan and return to Yijing from Jingchu!
Although he really wanted to visit Sichuan, after careful consideration, Ye Mingsheng felt that he should return to Yijing to take charge of the center at this stage. This would better stabilize the political situation and prepare for becoming emperor!

As for Sichuan and Shu, he could inspect them later. Ye Mingsheng had already made a plan in his mind. If everything went well, he would come to Jiangnan again in the next three to five years to see the results of Murong Yuliang's work with his own eyes. It would not be too late to visit Sichuan and Shu then...

Just as Ye Mingsheng was secretly thinking about how to inspect Jingchu, he suddenly felt a small hand brushing across his vitals intentionally or unintentionally.

Feeling something strange, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but glance back, and saw a beautiful girl massaging his thigh intently.

This girl was about 18 or 19 years old, wearing an ordinary maid's outfit, with delicate features and a small round face, a petite figure, and very good skin, giving people the feeling that her skin was as smooth as N fat and as delicate as a baby's. She also exuded a faint fragrance.

Perhaps she sensed that Ye Mingsheng was looking at her, the girl's cheeks flushed slightly and her body trembled slightly.

Although the girl was pretty, Ye Mingsheng had been around for so many years and was no ordinary person. He had seen too many beautiful women, so he didn't have any other ideas.

But as the girl's face flushed, Ye Mingsheng thought she was a little cute, and immediately smiled and asked:
"What's your name?"

"My Lord, my maid's name is Ren Qiushui!"

"Ren Qiushui? Not a bad name!"

"Thank you for your compliment, Marshal!"

At this time, another maid who was giving Ye Mingsheng a massage looked up in surprise when she saw Ye Mingsheng asking for her companion's name, and then looked at Ye Mingsheng with some expectation, as if she also wanted to introduce herself to Ye Mingsheng.

Although the maid was pretty, with an oval face, big eyes, a slim figure and wonderful curves, Ye Mingsheng had no feelings for her. When she saw that Ye Mingsheng ignored her, her oval face was filled with disappointment...
Although they are young and beautiful, they come from poor backgrounds, otherwise they would not have worked as maids. Since they were chosen to serve Ye Mingsheng, they all had the idea of ​​climbing up the tree and becoming a phoenix. For them, Ye Mingsheng's favor is an important opportunity to change their destiny.

At this time, Ren Qiu Shui saw that Ye Mingsheng didn't say anything after asking her name, and her expression seemed a little disappointed. Her beautiful eyes like autumn water subconsciously swept towards Ye Mingsheng's vital points. Just when Ren Qiu Shui was hesitating whether to take any action, Song Haibo's voice came from outside the door.

"Marshal, Wang Xuecheng is here!"

When Ye Mingsheng heard that Wang Xuecheng was coming, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. Shouldn't Wang Xuecheng stay in Yijing at this time? Why did he travel thousands of miles to Jiangnan?
Although he was a little confused, Ye Mingsheng thought about it and understood why Wang Xuecheng came. He immediately opened his mouth and ordered:

"I won't see any visitors late at night!"

"Yes!"

Listening to the conversation between Ye Mingsheng and Song Haibo, and feeling the unquestionable majesty in Ye Mingsheng's words, Ren Qiu Shui seemed a little excited. She bit her red lips lightly and leaned on Ye Mingsheng's body, pressing Ye Mingsheng's shoulders. With her action, Ye Mingsheng could also feel the hot breath of the girl behind him.

Smelling the faint fragrance, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but admire Ren Qiushui's boldness. Just when the atmosphere in the room was a little ambiguous, Song Haibo turned back and stood outside the door to report to Ye Mingsheng:
"Marshal, Director Wang said that he has reached an agreement with the Jinghai Army and handed over the text of the agreement..."

As soon as these words came out, a gleam of light flashed in Ye Mingsheng's eyes. The next second, Ye Mingsheng, who was concerned about state affairs, climbed out of bed, put on his clothes and walked out the door!

Seeing Ye Mingsheng get up and leave without any hesitation, Ren Qiu Shui's beautiful eyes became a little resentful. She originally thought that she could take down Ye Mingsheng tonight!

Ye Mingsheng didn't know what Ren Qiu Shui was thinking at this time. He took the memorial and went to the study. Song Haibo also hurriedly asked people to light several kerosene lamps in the study.

Under the light of the kerosene lamp, Ye Mingsheng flipped through the memorial handed over by Wang Xuecheng. Looking at the terms discussed by Wang Xuecheng and Zhang Kaishan, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but frowned and fell into deep thought!
From this agreement, Ye Mingsheng could feel that Wang Xuecheng had done a lot of work and made great efforts to complete this agreement!

Although Wang Xuecheng, who was in charge of the negotiations, made compromises on some issues, but in at least a few major aspects, such as the Jinghai Army only taking 10% of the trade profits and the issue of conferring the title of Jinghai Marquis on Zhang Dapeng, Wang Xuecheng held on to the bottom line and forced the other party to compromise and make concessions.

Honestly speaking, Ye Mingsheng felt that some of the specific clauses were a bit too much, but overall Ye Mingsheng could still accept it. If he could persuade Zhang Dapeng to surrender under such conditions, and let Zhang Dapeng and his Jinghai Army provide protection for the Da Zhou merchant ships in Southeast Asia, Ye Mingsheng thought it would be a good deal...
After a moment's silence, Ye Mingsheng instructed Song Haibo:

"Where is Wang Xuecheng?" "Your Excellency, Director Wang is waiting outside the palace gate!"

"Leave Lin Kun to him and let him take care of himself!"

"Yes!"

Ye Mingsheng knew that the reason why Wang Xuecheng rushed all the way from Yijing in such a hurry was that he must have heard that Lin Kun had exposed him, so he hurried to him to beg for mercy.

To be honest, Ye Mingsheng was not surprised at all that Wang Xuecheng was involved in the Jiangnan case. After all, Wang Xuecheng was just that kind of person. Ye Mingsheng used to hope that Wang Xuecheng would come to his senses, but now Ye Mingsheng no longer has any hope. He knows that Wang Xuecheng is a person who will never change his ways. If he didn't eat shit that day, he would not be Wang Xuecheng!

Of course, although Wang Xuecheng is a little greedy, he is generally loyal and capable of getting things done. Ye Mingsheng is also at ease to hand over some things to him, so Ye Mingsheng does not intend to take him down this time. He only plans to give Wang Xuecheng a light punishment and a stern warning!
It was for this reason that Ye Mingsheng decided not to meet Wang Xuecheng, but he handed Lin Kun over to Wang Xuecheng, meaning that Wang Xuecheng had to clean up his own mess!
When reading the memorial just now, Ye Mingsheng remembered very clearly that Zhang Kaishan, the representative of Jinghai Army, asked for 100,000 taels of silver as activity funds for lobbying activities within Jinghai Army!
Ye Mingsheng estimated that Wang Xuecheng had made at least 100,000 yuan in these years, so Ye Mingsheng believed that even if he didn’t say it, Wang Xuecheng should understand what he meant, otherwise, his position as the director of the Coordination Office would be in vain...
･････････
･････････
Yijing, Ye Mansion

Looking at the account book in her hand, An Miaoyi couldn't help but frowned. Although the Guards' Office had released news that Ye Mingsheng intended to postpone the construction of the palace, An Miaoyi believed that since Ye Mingsheng was going to ascend the throne and become emperor, the place where he would live would be the imperial palace, and the imperial palace would naturally have to be magnificent and beautiful!

Therefore, An Miaoyi initially hoped that the Ministry of Revenue could come up with hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to allow the Ye Mansion to expand and renovate!
However, after learning about the situation of the Ministry of Households from Cui Shao, although An Miaoyi was a little angry, she had to give up this idea!

Although it is impossible to ask the Ministry of Revenue to pay, An Miaoyi still has not given up her idea of ​​expanding and redecorating the Ye Mansion. Facing the reality, her current idea is to reduce the amount of work, reduce project expenses, and then the Ye Mansion will pay for the project expenses!

For this purpose, An Miaoyi asked the Ministry of Industry to come up with a design plan, and just an hour ago, based on the various requirements raised by An Miaoyi, the Ministry of Industry also handed a design plan to An Miaoyi.

An Miaoyi was generally satisfied with the design plan, but she was very dissatisfied with the amount of silver required for the design plan. The construction amount proposed by the Ministry of Works was 60,000 taels of silver, but An Miaoyi thought that 60,000 taels was too expensive and asked the Ministry of Works to reduce the amount.

In response to An Miaoyi's request, the Minister of Works Chen Fu said helplessly that the 60,000 taels of silver was already a 50% discount on the price of their Ministry of Works. If they wanted to reduce the project payment, they could only reduce the project volume...

An Miaoyi was unwilling to do this. After all, this construction plan was already the lowest standard she could accept. She would not accept it if the workload was reduced.

At this point, the matter has come to a stalemate. An Miaoyi is a little conflicted about this. To be honest, it's not that the Ye Mansion can't come up with 60,000 taels of silver!
Even though Ye Mingsheng had taken away 110,000 taels of silver during his previous southern tour, with the dividends from the Ye family's properties over the past few months, the Ye family now has a new 70,000 taels of silver in their account, which is enough to pay the 60,000 taels of silver required by the Ministry of Works for the project!
Although there was money to pay for the project, An Miaoyi still felt that sixty thousand taels of silver was too much. Once the sixty thousand taels of silver were paid, there would be less than ten thousand taels of silver left in the Ye Mansion's account, and the Ye Mansion had a lot of expenses!

And the most important point is that it is she, An Miaoyi, who is in charge of the accounts of the Ye Mansion now. In An Miaoyi's view, the money of the Ye Mansion is naturally her own money. Taking out such a large sum of money from her own pocket all at once really makes An Miaoyi hesitant!
Qiqige, who was standing nearby, saw An Miaoyi's tangled look and understood what An Miaoyi was worried about. She immediately suggested:

"Madam, Ren Hai has proposed a good idea for the expansion and renovation of the mansion!"

Hearing the words "good idea", An Miaoyi also became interested and asked:
"What good ideas does he have?"

“Ren Hai said that madam, you can apply for a ticket exchange license. With this license, you can open a ticket exchange. Then you can absorb silver from the people. In this way, you will have a great source of income. Not to mention 60,000 taels of silver, even 600,000 taels of silver will not be a problem…”

An Miaoyi thought for a moment and said:
"I heard that the husband set a maximum interest rate of 25 cents per year for the bank. And he also lowered the interest rate to the farmers. Can the bank make money?"

In response to An Miaoyi's question, Qiqige whispered:

"Ren Hai told me that according to the rules set by adults, it is basically difficult to make money from the bank. But he said that the bank itself has a lot of money, and you can make a lot of money by manipulating the bank!"

Hearing what Qiqige said, An Miaoyi's eyes flashed with a gleam. She thought Ren Hai's suggestion was very interesting. If she could control a bank, it seemed that she would not have to worry about the few pieces of silver she had now!
The only difficult thing is that the ticket office needs a license. According to the current process, it needs to pass the assessment of the local governor and the provincial prosecutor, and then report to the Ministry of Revenue. After the assessment by the Ministry of Revenue, Ye Mingsheng will send the Coordination Office to conduct an assessment. This set of procedures is easy to handle, and An Miaoyi feels that she can handle it!

When it comes to the last hurdle of dealing with Ye Mingsheng, An Miaoyi is not very confident. Although Wang Xuecheng had tried to curry favor with her before, after the incident with Huo San, Wang Xuecheng cut off all contact with her, so An Miaoyi does not think that she still has any influence on Wang Xuecheng!

Thinking of this, An Miaoyi pondered for a while and asked Qiqige:

"How is Ren Hai doing recently?"

Qiqige heard this and said:

"He is currently in charge of Dadongsheng's banknote business. He has always wanted to get closer to you, madam. I think he is sincere and has many ideas, so he is a useful talent..."

(End of this chapter)